Team India head coach Gautam Gambhir was seen having an intense talk with wicket-keeper batter Sanju Samson ahead of the upcoming Asia Cup 2025 group stage clash against the United Arab Emirates (UAE). The former player was recently witnessed having a similar chat with the other wicket-keeping candidate, Jitesh Sharma, during a practice session in Dubai. Gautam Gambhir and the team management have a massive selection call to make between the two wicket-keeping choices to complete the playing XI. Sanju Samson is caught in a tough spot after Shubman Gill's ascendancy to the vice-captain role, which guarantees him a place in the side, highly likely as an opener. Jitesh Sharma's impact and consistency as a finisher, most recently witnessed in the 2025 Indian Premier League (IPL) with the Royal Challengers Bengaluru (RCB), makes him a highly viable candidate for the role in the middle-order. Amid all the speculations and outside chatter, Samson has been training with the side in the lead-up to the tournament. During Team India's training session at the ICC Academy ahead of their opening clash against the UAE, Gambhir held one-on-one talks with Samson, who had his wicket-keeping gloves on. The player was seen listening intently and nodding along, as the head coach tried to get his point across in typical animated fashion, rife with hand gestures. Have a look at the interaction right here (via PTI)The Suryakumar Yadav-led side have been drawn in Group A of the Asia Cup 2025, alongside UAE, Oman, and Pakistan. Sanju Samson has a strike rate of 178.77 as an opener in T20Is The wicket-keeper batter had a fruitful run as an opening batter after the 2024 T20 World Cup. He availed a string of games, most notably during the bilateral series against Bangladesh, England, and South Africa. a run where he smashed three hundreds in quick span. Prior to his recent stint as an opener, he had featured at the top on select occasions in the early part of the decade, but had failed to make an impact. Overall, he has scored 522 runs in 17 innings as an opener in T20Is, averaging 32.63, with a strike rate of 178.77. As far as his T20I record in the middle-order is concerned, he has played seven matches batting at No.5 or below, where he has scored 93 runs at an average of 18.6.